Stranger
by Serenity'sfire98
Summary: A strange girl appears, taking the Guardians, Pitch, Jamie, and his friends to a strange home. There they meet a young girl named Emma. So what happens when they all end up watching a movie called Rise of the Guardians? Why is Jack so drawn to Emma, and why are memories he never knew he had beginning to fight their way to the surface? A watching-the-movie fanfic. Disclaimer inside.
1. Chapter 1

Emma Overland sat next to a lake, tears cascading down her cheeks. Springtime was in the air, but there was no happiness for her in the birds chirping. Her older brother, Jack, had drowned in that very lake only months before. He had died saving her life, and she blamed herself for his death.

"Jack, I miss you." she whispered.

"Are you Emma?" a girl's voice asked. Emma turned, brown hair whipping her face as she turned her eyes on the stranger. The girl had dark brown hair pulled into a braid that hung all the way to her knees.

"Who're you?" Emma asked, backing up, her feet hitting the edge of the still-frozen water.

"Don't go on the lake! It's not thick enough, you could get hurt." the stranger said, reaching out and pulling her back. She stared out and her eyes rested on the spot Jack had drowned.

"Emma, will you listen to me? it's about your brother. This will be hard on both of you, but the hardest on you. If you decide to do this I'll need you to be brave for me." she said, kneeling down and looking the younger girl in the eyes. Emma nodded.

"I'm going to take you about three hundred years into the future- where I'm from. Jack is alive, but he's... different. He's the spirit of winter now. And he doesn't remember anything. He woke up in the lake and the moon told him his name. And that's all he knows of himself. While you're there, at some point he's going to remember who he is, and who you are. Until then you can't tell him, but when he remembers you can hug all you want. Is that alright?" the girl looked almost terrified that her decision would be wrong. Emma nodded immediately- anything to be able to see her brother again.

"I'm E-Faith. I'm the Spirit of Time, and the Guardian of Belief." she said, taking Emma by the hand. She started walking and tapped her foot against the trunk of a tree. It seemed to split apart. Emma tensed in fear. Faith squeezed the girl's hand comfortingly.

"Emma, I promise you that there is nothing to be scared of. I'm right here. Don't be frightened." she said, and the two walked through.

In the town of Burgess, modern day, the same tree revealed the two stepping out, three hundred years later, as though not a day had passed.

"It looks the same." Emma said. Faith smiled.

"It is, just about. This is where Jack usually stays, but I have a place set up for us." Faith suddenly teleported to a small house. There were plenty of bedrooms as well as a large, comfortable looking living room.

"Well, to bring you up to speed, I'll have to start at the beginning. You know who Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman are, don't you? Well, it begins with them, the Boogieman who is also known as Pitch Black, and your brother."

* * *

It was hours later that a blinding white light filled North's workshop. The large Russian landed on the floor, flat on his face. E. Aster Bunnymund landed on his feet, and Toothiana fluttered down, managing not to trip and fall. Sandy was sitting on a cushion of dream sand. The group of six children landed in a confused heap, Sophie starting to cry. Jack Frost was leaning on his staff, and Pitch Black had drawn into a corner, hiding.

"Sophie, come here." Jamie said, picking up his little sister and calming her down.

"Well, now that everyone's here I believe it is time for introductions." Faith said, walking in, leading Emma. Her eyes rested on Jack and she looked away quickly, making him start- she could see him?

"Well, these kids are Sophie, Jamie, Claude, Caleb, Pippa, Monty, and Cupcake. This one right here is Emma, though she's a bit new to the 21st century. She's from the colonial times, but she needed to come as later on someone here will need her as much as she needs them. This is North, who is Santa Clause. Bunny, obviously the Easter Bunny. Sandy, the Sandman. And Tooth, the Tooth fairy. Now, first you come over here." she said, grabbing Jack and dragging him over next to her.

"Now, for the kids, raise your hand if you can see someone next to me." she said. Only Emma raised her hand, and the other kids stared at her.

"Well, do you remember that old saying about jack Frost? Well, he is real, and right next to me. You have to believe in him to see him. Now raise your hand if you can see him." she said. Every child raised their hands, except for Sophie though she was a bit preoccupied jumping around Bunny's feet happily. She turned and nudged Jack, as he stared in shock at the kids who had raised their hands. They all had shock in their eyes and a grin started to spread across his face. He let out a breath of laughter, and the kids all started grinning as well.

"Y-You can see me?" he gasped, not able to really comprehend it. They all nodded and he did a backflip he was so happy. This made Emma smile- he was happy.

"Well, let's get started. We're going to watch the first half of a movie now. We'll watch the second half after breakfast tomorrow. Getting everyone together took longer than I anticipated." she said, settling onto a couch. Pitch emerged and Sophie shied away from him, hiding her face in Bunny's leg. He sat her next to him as most of the kids backed up. Emma gasped but Faith pulled her to her side.

"Pitch, you know that I'm stronger than you will ever be, and that if you cause any trouble here I will not hesitate to kick your miserable rear into next century." She threatened. He sat down in a black armchair but seemed to take her threat to heart. The kids found squashy beanbags to sit in. North sat in an armchair, as did the other three guardians. Jack and Faith sat on a love seat together, Emma squished between them. She still refused to look directly at Jack.

"Well, the movie is called Rise of the Guardians, and is actually about what happens in the next few days, and a bit of what happened in Emma's time. No fighting, understood? Jack, that goes for you too. No picking fights with Bunny." she said sternly and took a remote, hitting 'play'.


	2. Chapter 2

**DARKNESS**

**JACK (V.O.)**

**Darkness.**

The whole room jumped, as Jack frowned.

"That sounds like me." he said.

**That's the first thing I remember. **

**It was dark, and it was**

**cold. And I was scared.**

"I don't remember saying this, but it sounds like my first memory." he murrmured. Emma looked up at him and realized even if his hair was white and his eyes were blue this was her brother, and even if he didn't know it she could still help him. She leaned into his side commfortingly.

_**The silhouette of a body appears as it drifts into a ray of**_

**_light, refracted through water, which turns into..._**  
**_A MOON - SEEN IN REFLECTION ON A SHEET OF ICE_**

"Why were you in a lake?" Bunny asked. Jack shrugged.

"I woke up, the moon told me my name, I went on my merry way." no one missed the bitter tone in his voice.

**_The moonlight intensifies almost magically, and the ice above _**  
**_begins to spider-web and crack._**

Emma had to hide her cringe- She'd never forget that sound.

_**EXT. FROZEN POND - NIGHT**_

**_Snow-covered trees in every direction. The ice in the pond _**  
**_continues to crack, until finally a hole splinters open. _**

**_A young man floats out of the water, bathed in the intense_**

**_moonlight. This is JACK FROST - thin, pale, barefoot, his _**  
**_tousled hair frosted white._**

**JACK (V.O.)**

**But then...then I saw the moon.**

**It was so big and it was so bright,**

**and it seemed to chase the darkness **  
**away. **

**And when it did...I wasn't**

**scared anymore. **

**_Jack floats back down onto the ice as the hole closes up underneath him_.**

**JACK (V.O.)**

**Why I was there, and what I was **  
**meant to do - that I've never **  
**known. And a part of me wonders if **  
**I ever will.**

**_Jack looks around, confused, then turns toward the moonlight_**

**_as it dims a bit._**  
**_Jack carefully treads across the ice until he hits something _**  
**_with his feet. He looks down, and at his feet is a wooden _**  
**_staff._**

Jack smiles as he readjusted his grip on the wood- his staff was a part of him.

**_Curious, he picks it up. Almost immediately the_**

**_staff begins to glow a cold blue in his hands. Odd._**  
**_He almost drops it as the base of the staff comes in _**  
**_contact with the ground. _**

_**Frost shoots out and spreads across**_

**_the ice. Jack is visibly confused. _**

"I can't blame you there." Jamie said with a shake of his head. Monty frowned.

"You know, you look a lot like her." he said, pointing to Emma.

**_He touches a few trees with his staff sending frost up their _**  
**_trunks. Then he swings the staff again, more confident, as _**  
**_he begins to run across the frozen pond. _**  
**_Another swing, and a gust of wind swirls him high up into the _**  
**_air. _**

_**Jack floats for a moment only to fall back down to**_

_**earth and into the trees. Jack grabs hold of a tree branch and pulls himself up to see a small town off in the distance.**_

_**EXT. BURGESS SETTLEMENT - TOWN CENTER - CONTINUOUS**_

**_A collection of simple timber houses with thatched roofs. _**  
**_Jack comes in for a landing, and it's a rocky one. He stands _**  
**_up, still elated, and brushes himself off. _**  
**_As Jack makes his way into town, settlers are warming their _**  
**_hands by campfire. Jack doesn't recognize anyone._**

"I remember that! It started snowing out of nowhere, I didn't know it was you! Look, there's me! I'm talking to James. He was asking if Mother was alright. She's been feeling a bit down ever since..." Emma trailed off, and Jack saw she was hurting.

"Her brother was killed a few months ago." Faith whispered. Jack nodded.

"Hey, it's going to be alright." he assured her, giving her a playful nudge. She smiled weakly.

**JACK**

**(to the townsfolk)**  
**Hello. Hello. Good evening, **  
**ma'am. **  
**(beat)**  
**Ma'am?**

**_The settlers walk past Jack, not noticing him. Jack crouches_**

**_down as a YOUNG BOY runs toward him._**  
**JACK**  
**Oh, ah, excuse me, can you tell me **  
**where I am?**

**_The boy runs right through Jack, as if he were a ghost. Jack_**

**_staggers back in shock. He's speechless, as if the wind had _**  
**_been knocked out him. _**

The Guardians look sympathetic, as do the kids. Pitch just looked impassive. Faith stared at him. She was starting to wonder if bringing him was a good idea.

_**His emotions causing it to snow.**_

**JACK**

**Hello! Hello!**

_**Townsfolk continue to pass through Jack, unaware of his**_

**_presence. Shaken, Jack turns and retreats into the forest._**

**JACK (V.O.)**

**My name is Jack Frost - how do I **  
**know that? The moon told me so. **  
**But that was all he ever told me. **  
**And that was a long, long time ago.**

_**The words 'Rise of the Guardians' fill the screen until the next scene loads.**_

Jack looked a bit depressed, but Faith reached over Emma and tugged at his hair.

"Cheer up, Jack. Look at you now, believed in and everything." she said, attempting to make him smile. He did, but it was halfhearted. He still just wanted to know who he was.


	3. Chapter 3

**EXT. NORTH POLE - DUSK**

"This is present day." Faith said to clarify.

_**FIERY GYPSY VIOLIN MUSIC as we move through clouds to reveal**_

**_a MASSIVE ICE CANYON, and just around a bend, the incredible _**  
**_hidden fortress of NORTH, aka SANTA CLAUS._**

**INT. NORTH'S WORKSHOP - DUSK**

**_We glimpse a familiar-looking RED JACKET and CAP with white _**  
**_trim on a coat hanger just as a pair of tongs SLAM a block of _**  
**_ice onto a stone work table-_**

_**IN QUICK CUTS: A CHAINSAW shears the block in half, spraying**_

**_ice. North lifts up the chainsaw revealing a massive tatoo _**  
**_on his arm, the word NAUGHTY clearly visible._**

Many of the kids don't know what to think- their idol has tattoos!

_**Three ELVES huddle in a doorway around a plate of cookies,**_

**_each licking their own tasty morsel._**

**NORTH (O.S.)**

**Still waiting for cookies!**

"Oh dear." Emma giggled.

_**As North crosses the background, the elves lower the cookies**_

**_from their mouths, their faces frozen in fear._**  
**_The elves duck out of the way as North launches himself _**  
**_across the floor on his rolling chair - CLOSE as his huge _**  
**_HAND gropes furiously among his WORK TOOLS, finally grabbing _**  
**_a miniature HAMMER. _**

"That is a tiny hammer." Jack whispered.

_**As North's humming along with his music,**_

**_delicately CHISELING into the ice, _**

"Ice?" Asked Cupcake.

"If you get the right kind it lasts a while, that and it's easier to sculpt with." North replied. Cupcake nodded, and Faith said

"Jack, can't you make ice that never melts?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, but it's not easy. I generally just use it way up north." he shrugged.

_**we see a second arm sleeve**_

_**tatoo, the word NICE clearly visible-**_

_**His INTENSE BLUE EYE magnified in a JEWELER'S EYEPIECE -**_

The expression that Monty had on his face, eyes wide and leaning back in shock, made many others laugh.

_**A delicate SCULPTING TOOL cuts fine details into the ice-**_

**_His hands place the finished piece on a curving ICE TRACK: An _**  
**_ice LOCOMOTIVE. It belches ice vapor and chugs down the _**  
**_track, picking up speed-_**

**NORTH**

**Yes!**

_**North's hand grabs a cookie from a plate held up by the two**_

**_Elves. _**  
**_One of the elves gives his cohort a look and points to the _**  
**_plate as it chews with a mouth full of food, to which it then _**  
**_unfurls its tongue and lets the half eaten morsels spill out _**  
**_onto the plate._**

Most of the girls in the room shudder and a few of the boys make faces as North looks embarassed.

**NORTH**

**Ah, finally!**

_**He takes a bite and leans toward the ice track.**_

_**He chuckles**_

**_as the train hits a loop, and launches off a ramp into midair _**  
**_- then WINGS unfold - JET ENGINES sprout and ignite and the _**  
**_train lifts off the track-_**  
**_Suddenly, the DOOR is thrown open by one of North's concerned _**  
**_YETIS, sending the flying ice locomotive skidding across the _**  
**_floor in pieces._**

"NO!" the kids exclaimed, falling backwards in their beanbags.

**YETI**

**Arghbal...**

**NORTH**

**Ach! **

_**The yeti cries out covering his mouth in shame. North cries**_

**_out, devastated. The yeti, equally emotional, lets out _**  
**_another whimper. _**

Jack chuckles as the kids laugh- he notices that Emma is still a bit sullen. How to cheer her up?

_**North looks down at the broken toy and**_

**_takes a moment to collect himself._**

**NORTH**

**How many times have I told you to **  
**knock?**

"About how many times Jack has tried to break in?" Faith asked innocently.

**YETI**

**Warga blarghgha!**

"I don't understand..." Caleb whispers.

**NORTH**

**What...? The Globe?**

"this isn't good." Claude whispers back to his brother.

_**North leaps up - draws a HUGE SCIMITAR from its sheath and**_

**_heads out-_**

**INT. NORTH'S GLOBE ROOM - CONTINUOUS**

**_A sea of tiny BELLS on the heads of panicking elves part as _**  
**_North's huge boots stomp through._**

**NORTH**

**Shoo with your pointy heads. Why **  
**are you always under boot?**

"Don't pick on the elves, they're adorable!" Pippa exclaimed.

_**He pushes his way past a couple of his YETI WORKERS -**_

**_they're looking up in fear at - Avid GLOBE OF BELIEF_**  
**_Covered with LIGHTS blanketing the continents. But North _**  
**_notices that all at once, HUNDREDS OF LIGHTS suddenly go out._**

**NORTH**

**What is this?**

"It looks like a globe." Jack deadpanned.

"Very intelligent, frostbite. It looks like a globe." Bunny taunted.

"Bunny." Faith said with a warning tone.

_**Now MORE LIGHTS, in GREATER NUMBERS, as if something is**_

**_snuffing them out by the thousands. North's concern grows._**

**NORTH**

**(to Yeti)**  
**Have you checked the axis? Is **  
**rotation balanced?**

"Big words." Sophie said, confused.

**YETI**

**(shrugs shoulders)**  
**Wardle bawddrel-**

_**Before the Yeti can finish, a WIND whips up from out of**_

**_nowhere - North stares in outrage as a blanket of SWIRLING _**  
**_BLACK SAND, crawls over the lights, and shrouds the ENTIRE _**  
**_GLOBE in inky DARKNESS-_**

The kids' eyes widen and Sophie huddles a bit closer to Bunny, as Emma buried herself deeper into Jack's side. The Guardians were glaring at Pitch with ferocity, and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

_**The elves scurry in a panic,**_

**_then all at once the BLACK SAND _**  
**_WHOOSHES UP off the Globe - rushes up through the ceiling as _**  
**_the remaining sand bursts into a puff of smoke and dissipates _**  
**_into the air - _**

_**As the wind dies, the scattered pieces of debris settle to**_

**_the ground, and the globes lights come back on, North whirls _**  
**_to see a HUGE SHADOW flash across the floors and curving _**  
**_walls of his fortress. It quickly disappears, leaving _**  
**_nothing but the distant ECHO of...LAUGHTER? _**

"That't not creepy at all." Came Jack's sarcastic remark.

_**North is frozen, looking up into the darkness, gravely:**_

**NORTH**

**Can it be?**  
**(then calls off)**  
**Dingle!**

"Dingle. Nice name." Jamie comments, and Emma had to smile- he reminded her of Jack a bit.

**_A group of elves step forward gleefully pointing to_**

**_themselves, as if they're all "Dingle". The excitement _**  
**_quickly turns to confusion._**

"Elves." North groaned, exasperated. Tooth giggled- she quite liked them.

**NORTH**

**Make preparations! We are going to **  
**have company.**

"So in other words make cookies and find eggnog?" Tooth asked teasingly. Pictures started flashing wildly above Sandy's head.

"Yes Sandy, we know you love eggnog. Calm down." Faith laughed at her friend.

_**North reaches out for a large EMERGENCY LEVER, TWISTS and**_

**_PRESSES IT-_**_**Avid Globe pulses with ENERGY, which lights up and ZOOMS UP **_  
**_the AXIS SHAFT toward the roof-_**

**EXT. NORTH POLE - CONTINUOUS**

**_From the tallest spire of North's fortress, NORTHERN LIGHT _**  
**_ENERGY radiates outward: for the first time in decades, the _**  
**_GUARDIANS' CALL GOES OUT!_**

The kids are all staring wide eyed- this was obviously a big deal.


	4. Chapter 4

**INT. CHILD'S BEDROOM - NIGHT**

**_A little fairy, carrying a coin, flies above the head of a _**  
**_sleeping child. She quickly ducks under the pillow and comes _**  
**_out the other side with a tooth in hand._**

**EXT. TOOTH'S PALACE - DAY**

**_Hundreds of fairies fly toward a hollowed out mountain, this _**  
**_is Tooth's palace and it's a majestic site._**

"Wow." Gasp the children.

**INT. TOOTH'S PALACE**

**_Dozens of tiny FAIRIES flit about. Teeth are filed away in _**  
**_tiny wooden drawers. Coins are handed out._**

"Tooth Fairy!" Pippa and Cupcake squeal at the same time.

**TOOTH (O.S.)**

**Chicago, Sector 6 - 37 molars, 22 **  
**bicuspids, 18 central incisors. **  
**Moscow, Sector 9 - 22 incisors, 18 **  
**premolars: Uh oh, heavy rain **  
**advisory! **  
**Des Moines, we've got a cuspid at **  
**23 Maple. Head out!**

"That's impressive, I have to say." Jack commented.

_**A hive of activity, and at the center a winged figure barks**_

**_out orders like a harried air-traffic controller. This is _**  
**_TOOTH. A Mini Tooth Fairy flies up to Tooth as thousands of _**  
**_tiny MINI TOOTH FAIRIES continue their work behind them. _**

**TOOTH (O.S.)**

**Wait!**

_**And suddenly everything stops. Tooth whips around, and we**_

**_finally see her beautiful FACE. _**  
**_she's holding up a little tooth, and gazing at it with dreamy _**  
**_adoration. The surrounding fairies tweet with excitement._**

**TOOTH (CONT'D)**

**It's her first tooth. Have you **  
**ever seen a more adorable lateral **  
**incisor in all of your life?!**  
**(gasps)**  
**Look how she flossed!**

Bunny facepalmed while Sandy just shook his head fondly. Tooth had the grace to blush.

_**The fairies' tweets turn to concern, turning Tooth's**_

**_attention to North's AURORA SIGNAL stretching across the sky. _**  
**_She gasps, and flies off like a rocket toward the source of _**  
**_the signal, accompanied by a few of her ranking fairies._**

**NORTH (OVERVOICE)**

**My fellow Guardians - **

**It is our job**

**to watch over the children of the **  
**world, and keep them safe - to **  
**bring wonder, hope and dreams. **

"Are you a Guardian?" Jamie asked Faith. She laughed, smiling, and shook her head.

"No, but you don't have to be a Guardian to protect the kids. Jack and I are alike in that way, and alike in the fact that we went a long time without knowing who we were before." she said, smiling sadly at the last part.

"How did you find out?" Jack asked.

"I went to Tooth after around fifty years, hoping she could fix something for me. It was quite a shock, what I found out." she shrugged.

**And so, I've called us all here for**

**one reason, and one reason only - **  
**the children are in danger.**

**EXT./INT. CHILD'S BEDROOM**

**_We pull out from the face of a sleeping child to reveal a _**  
**_stream of sand swirling overhead. It's a dream and it's taken _**  
**_the shape of a child playing soccer. _**

_**We FOLLOW the Dreamsand stream out his window and up into the**_

**_sky where we see DOZENS of strands of sand descending to _**  
**_earth. Keep following up, through majestic CLOUDS..._**

_**...to reveal a small, GLOWING GOLDEN CLOUD of Dreamsand**_

**_shimmering among the clouds, trailing the golden threads. _**  
**_The strands are being controlled by a small portly figure, _**  
**_THE SANDMAN. _**

_**Suddenly, North's emergency signal zips by. The**_

**_Sandman turns to look and his eyes narrow, visibly concerned. _**  
**_Sandy closes his eyes and in an instant the Dreamsand cloud _**  
**_suddenly SWIRLS around him, changing form into a small _**  
**_BIPLANE, with Sandy in the cockpit. He BARREL ROLLS the _**  
**_plane into a dizzying dive through the spectacular cloudscape _**  
**_and flies off into the distance._**

"Whoa." the boys breathed, making the girls roll their eyes.

**NORTH (CONT)**

**An enemy we have kept at bay for**

**centuries has finally decided to **  
**strike back. We alone can stop **  
**him.**

"Who?" Pippa asked.

"My guess is him." Claude said, pointing at Pitch, who bared his teeth.

**INT. EGG TUNNEL**

**_A few EASTER EGGS pop up out of the ground; their little legs _**  
**_carry them out of the way of a fast approaching object. _**  
**_Speeding along through a subterranean tunnel, we can barely _**  
**_keep up with a DIMLY-LIT FIGURE as it races at blinding _**  
**_speed, leaping and zigzagging through a series of TUNNELS -_**

**EXT. A SNOWY EXPANSE IN THE NORTH POLE**

**_A hole opens in the snow, and a pair of rabbit ears pops out. _**  
**_A huge rabbit climbs out and brushes off the snow, annoyed. _**  
**_The six foot tall figure is BUNNYMUND._**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Ah, it's freezing.**

_**He shivers with cold, then goes slogging through the snow.**_

**BUNNYMUND (CONT'D)**

**I can't feel my feet! I can't feel **  
**my feet!**

"Bunny! Hop hop hop!" Sophie said, hopping up and down next to Bunny's chair. He didn't really know what to think.

_**In the distance is North's ornately decorated and dimly lit**_

_**palace built into the side of a mountain of ice.**_

**INT. GLOBE ROOM - NIGHT**

**_Sandy's biplane circles the massive chamber, leaving trails _**  
**_of Dreamsand._**

**NORTH (O.S.)**

**Cookies? Eggnog, anyone?**

**BUNNYMUND (O.S.)**

**Oh, this better be good, North.**

**TOOTHIANA**

**(to her fairies)**  
**Montreal, sector six: ten **  
**premolars, eight incisors and **  
**twelve canines. Steer clear of the **  
**wild goose migration.**

"That is amazing, how you do that." faith said, shaking her head.

**NORTH**

**Sandy, thank you for coming. **

_**Sandy descends from the plane and floats to the ground. He**_

**_joins North, Bunny and Tooth as they walk through the Globe _**  
**_Room. Sand glyphs appear above Sandy's head communicating _**  
**_that he is busy and has a lot of work to do._**

**NORTH**

**(to Sandy)**  
**I know, I know, but I obviously **  
**wouldn't have called you all here **  
**unless it was serious.**

"True. Bunny can be... disagreeable... if you call him away from his easter preparations." North said.

_**North, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy reach the center of the room.**_

**_Tooth does her best to shush her mini-fairies._**

**NORTH (CONT'D)**

**The Boogie Man was here - at the **  
**Pole.**

_**North points to the globe. The other Guardians turn to look.**_

**TOOTH**

**(shocked)**  
**Pitch? Pitch Black? Here?!**

**NORTH**

**Yes! There was black sand covering **  
**the globe.**

Sandy frowned at that. Black sand was nightmare sand, but had Pitch learned how to control it, and perhaps- he shuddered at the mere thought- _make_ it?

**BUNNYMUND**

**(confused)**  
**What, what...what do you mean black **  
**sand?**

**NORTH**

**And then a shadow!**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Hold on, hold on, I thought you **  
**said you saw Pitch.**

**NORTH**

**Well, ah, not exactly...**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Not exactly? Can you believe this **  
**guy?**

_**Bunny turns to Sandy, who shrugs while forming a Dreamsand**_

**_question mark above his head._**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Yeah, you said it, Sandy.**

_**Bunny goes back to painting one of his Easter eggs.**_

"I like the blue ones the best." Emma said shyly. The other kids started naming their favorite colors and patterns and what they hoped to find in theres the next day. She smiled.

"I like the blue ones with snowflakes on them. They remind me of my brother. Winter was his favorite season. He said that autumn was dreary, spring made him sneeze, and that summer was too hot. I found one like that yesterday- that's when Easter just passed for us. It made me feel happier, because it felt like he was still there." she said, smiling fondly at old memories. Bunny frowned- he remembered almost every egg he had ever made, and he had never made a blue one with snowflakes. Jack just whistled innocently.

"Jack." Faith began.

"You didn't!" Tooth gasped.

"She was always drawing snowflakes, and she seemed down in the dumps so I found an egg and made it for her. It wasn't hard, just a bit of white paint on the one plain blue egg in Burgess." he shrugged.

**NORTH**

**Look, he is up to something very **  
**bad. I feel it, in my belly.**

"I don't think I'm going to comment here." Jack said mischeviously.

"You just did, Frostbite." Bunny said.

"Whatever, Kangaroo." Jack yawned.

"What did you just call me?" Bunny jumped to his feet. Jack stood as well.

"I'm not a kangaroo mate." he growled.

"Really, then what are you?" Jack snarled angrily.

"I'm the Easter Bunny. Kids believe in me." he said. Jack managed to hide the hurt, though it showed in his eyes. Not that Bunny noticed. However one little girl had.

"Hey, leave him alone! I believe in him!" Emma jumped up angrily- even if he didn't know it she still had to stand up for her brother. She looked up at the Easter Bunny and he saw the resemblence, how her stubborn expression matched Jack's so well. Jack's jaw had hit the floor. He'd never had anyone stand up for him, but here was this little girl, glaring at the Easter Bunny like he'd just kicked her kitten.

"Pause the movie." Bunny ordered and pulled the other three guardians into a side room.

"She's Frostbite's sister. She looks just like him." he said. Tooth's mouth fell open.

"What?"

"You heard me! Her brother died three hundred years ago. That's when Frostbite started giving us trouble. Her brother loved winter, and I don't know anyone who loves that season more than him. Tell me you don't see it." he challenged.

"No one has ever died before becoming a spirit, Bunny." she said.

"Well, everyone also remembers who they were before they were chosen." he shot back.

"I'm sure the movie will tell." North said, and they settled back down. Faith hit the 'play' button.

**BUNNYMUND**

**(his eyes narrow)**  
**Hang on, hang on, you mean to say, **  
**you summoned me here THREE DAYS **  
**BEFORE EASTER - because of your **  
**belly? **

**Mate, if I did this to you**

**three days before Christmas-**

**TOOTH**

**(to her fairies)**  
**Argentina. Priority alert! A **  
**batch of bicuspids in Buenos Aires.**

"Say that five times fast." Jack challenged. All the kids started trying, even Emma, but Jamie was the only one who managed. Jack conjured a tiny ice medal and gave it to him. Jamie just laughed- it was the size of a quarter!

"That's as big as I can get it without it actually snowing." Jack said, shrugging.

"Won't it melt?"

"Nope."

**NORTH**

**Please. Bunny. Easter is not **  
**Christmas.**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Here we go...**

_**North grabs Bunny's painted egg, casually juggling it in his**_

**_hand as he walks off. Meanwhile Sandy, who is being served _**  
**_eggnog by a yeti, suddenly notices something high above._**

**BUNNYMUND (O.S.)**

**(laughs)**  
**North, I, I don't have time for **  
**this. I've still got two million **  
**eggs to finish up.**

_**The moon rises into view, high up in the ceiling; its rays of**_

**_light begin to shine brightly through as they cascade down _**  
**_the walls of the globe room._**

**NORTH (O.S.)**

**No matter how much you paint, is **  
**still egg!**

"With candy!" Monty exclaimed.

_**Sandman points to the moon unsuccessfully to get the others'**_

**_attention._**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Look, mate, I'm dealing with **  
**perishables. Right. You've got **  
**all year to prepare.**

"He has a point." Jack commented. Bunny just looked shocked- frostbite was defending him?

"If you chilled the eggs they'd last longer though. Just saying." he said.

**TOOTH**

**(to her fairies)**  
**Pittsburg, boy eight, two molars. **  
**Saltwater taffy.**

_**Sandy puts his fingers in his mouth to whistle, a silent musical note forming above his head.**_

"Poor sandy." Cupcake said. She was ignored a lot of the time too.

**NORTH**

**(to Bunny)**  
**Why are rabbits always so nervous.**

**BUNNYMUND**

**And why are you always such a **  
**blowhard!**

**TOOTH (O.S.)**

**(to her fairies)**  
**Ontario, sector nine: five canines, **  
**two molars, and fourteen incisors. **  
**Is that all in one house?**

"It was, they had all the neighborhood kids for a sleepover and a fight broke out between the boys."

_**Sandy waves a sand flag above his head, pointing and jumping**_

**_up and down as the moonlight continues to fill the room._**

**NORTH**

**(turning his attention)**  
**Tooth! Can't you see we're trying **  
**to argue.**

**TOOTH**

**Sorry, not all of us get to work **  
**one night a year. Am I right, **  
**Sandy? **

_**Sandy tries to signal with a golden arrow, pointing toward**_

**_the ceiling, but to no avail as the others continue their _**  
**_bickering. _**

_**Sandy thinks Tooth has noticed for a split**_

**_second, __but then -_**

**TOOTH**

**(to her fairies)**  
**San Diego, sector two! Five **  
**incisors, a bicuspid and a really **  
**loose molar on stand-by.**

"So close." Claude said, fighting a smile. His brother elbowed him lightly.

**BUNNYMUND**

**(mocking)**  
**Come on, mate, Pitch went out with **  
**the dark ages. We made sure of **  
**that - remember?**

**NORTH (O.S.)**

**I know it was him. We have serious **  
**situation!**

**BUNNYMUND (O.S.)**

**Well, I've got a serious situation **  
**with some eggs.**

**TOOTH (O.S.)**

**Hey, I hate to interrupt the, "We **  
**work so hard once a year club" but **  
**could we concentrate on the matter-**

_**Sandy can't take it anymore, grabs an elf by his hat, and**_

**_vigorously shakes it's bell. _**

"The room bust into hystericle laughter. Pitch is scowling at the screen- if he could, he'd leave. However he didn't want to risk Faith's wrath.

_**The other Guardians are finally silenced and all turn to look at Sandy, who points up, a sand**_

**_crescent moon forming above his head. The dizzy elf staggers _**  
**_away. Finally the others turn to see the shaft of moonlight _**  
**_as it concentrates on the circle between them._**

**NORTH**

**Aah! Man in Moon! Sandy, why **  
**didn't you say something?**

_**Sandy gives him a deadpan stare, Dreamsand smoke shoots out**_

**_his ears._**

Faith leans away slightly as Sandy frowns.

"Never get on Sandy's bad side. Ever." she warned.

**NORTH**

**(to Man in Moon)**  
**It's been a long time old friend! **  
**What is big news?**

_**Everyone looks to the center of the intense spot of**_

**_moonlight, the light ebbs away, leaving a dark spot -_**  
**_- which resolves into the shadowed silhouette of PITCH. The _**  
**_Guardians look on, stunned._**

**BUNNYMUND**

**It is Pitch.**

**_North pats his belly and gives Bunny a look._**

**NORTH**

**(back up to the moon)**  
**Manny...what must we do?**

**_Man in Moon answer, the shadow of Pitch disappears and the circle of_**

**_moonlight intensifies and SHRINKS, concentrating further _**  
**_illuminating an ORNATE SYMBOL on the floor, at the center of _**  
**_their circle. The symbol rises out of the ground revealing a _**  
**_large gem at the head of a pillar._**

**TOOTH**

**Ah, guys, you know what this means? _The moons light suddenly refracts through the gem casting _**  
**_light all over the chamber._**

**NORTH**

**(awed)**  
**He's choosing a new Guardian.**

"Whoa." the kids breathe.

**BUNNYMUND**

**What?! Why?**

**NORTH**

**Must be big deal! Manny thinks we **  
**need help!**

**BUNNYMUND**

**(annoyed)**  
**Since when do we need help?!**

**TOOTH**

**I wonder who it's gonna be?**

**_A Dreamsand Four-Leaf clover forms above Sandy's head._**

**TOOTH (CONT'D)**

**Maybe the Leprechaun?**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Please not the groundhog, please **  
**not the groundhog.**

"What do you have against him?" Caleb asked.

"Well, if he decides to see his shadow Frostbite gets to torment me another two weeks."

"This is why I love the groundhog."

**_Then A BRIGHT FLASH, a rush of WIND- and a FIGURE resolves_**

**_over the central pillar: slight, hooded, bearing a familiar _**  
**_hooked STAFF._**

"No way." Jack breathed. His eyes had gone wide and he looked... hurt? This was his answer? MiM had ignored him for three hundred years and _this_ was his answer?

"Jack, you are a Guardian." Tooth said. He shook his head stubbornly.

"No, I'm not. MiM has ignored me for this long, when has he started caring?" Jack growled. Faith sighed.

"Jack, calm down please. MiM chose you because he cares. He left me alone so I could unlock my powers. He left you alone for a reason too. A reason that I didn't like and still don't agree with, but am sort of helping fix." she continued cryptically. He shook his head.

**NORTH**

**Jack Frost.**

**_The Mini-Teeth all sigh and swoon as the Guardians stand_**

**_there, stunned._**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Ah, I take it back! The **  
**Groundhog's fine!**

**TOOTHIANA**

**(caught admiring Jack)**

Jack and Tooth both blush. Sandy just rolls his eyes and a heart-symbol appeared over his head. Tooth blushed even harder, and jack nearly fainted.

"Sandy, stop embarassing them." Faith scolded lightly, though you could tell she was amused. Pitch looked like he could be sick. He was bored- everything was so... happy...

It needed a touch of fear.

**Well, ah, as long he helps to**

**ah...to protect the children, **  
**right?**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Jack Frost!? He doesn't care about **  
**children! **

"That's what you think." Emma said quietly, but she was heard nonetheless.

**All he does is freeze**

**water pipes and mess with my egg **  
**hunts. Right? He's an **  
**irresponsible, selfish...**

**NORTH**

**Guardian.**

"I am NOT a guardian." Jack said stubbornly.

**_This stops Bunnymund in his tracks._**

**BUNNYMUND**

**Jack Frost is many things, but he **  
**is not a Guardian.**

"Thank you for agreeing with me."

"Frostbite, shut up."

_**As we turn toward the face of the hooded figure.**_

"Jack, you ok?" Faith asked. Jack was staring at the ground.

"Three hundred years, and this is his answer?" he asked. Faith sighed.

"MiM can be foolish at times, but I think in the long run what he did was for the best for you. He always cares, and he'll always answer you eventually." Faith assured. He frowned but nodded reluctantly- perhaps she was right...


End file.
